Tesla robot walks, waves, but doesn't show off complex tasks

An early prototype of Tesla Inc.'s proposed Optimus humanoid robot slowly and awkwardly walked onto a stage, turned and waved to a cheering crowd at the company's artificial intelligence event Friday, Sept. 30. But the basic tasks by the robot with exposed wires and electronics -- as well as a later, next-generation version that had to be carried onstage by three men -- was a long way from CEO Elon Musk's vision of a human-like robot that can change the world. Musk told the crowd, many of whom might be hired by Tesla, that the robot can do much more than the audience saw on Sept. 30. He said it is also delicate and "we just didn't want it to fall on its face." Musk suggested that the problem with flashy robot demonstrations is that the robots are "missing a brain" and don't have the intelligence to navigate themselves, but he gave little evidence on Sept. 30 that Optimus was any more intelligent than robots developed by other companies and researchers.